Automatic door lock and latch



0. V. TULL Dec. 12, 1933.

AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCK AND LATCH 18, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct.

By yzmmizw fl Home y Dec. 12, 1933. o. v. TULL 1,939,028

AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCK AND LATCH Filed 001:. 18, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 'lO I 05/362" /r/z02z 754.15

Dec. 12, 1933. Q v TULL 1,939,028

AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCK AND LATCH Filed Oct. 18, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I Q i \N z z r R Inventor 2 /I Home y Dec. 12, 1933. o. v. TULL AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCK AND LATCH Filed Oct. 18, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 12, 1933. Q v TULL AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCK AND LATCH Filed Oct. 18, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Mum.

T A Home y Pa.tented- Dec. 12, 1933 Application October 18, 1932. Serial No. 638,381

2 Claims. 292'33) The present invention relates to improvements in doors such as are used on fire engine houses and the like and the invention relatesmore particularly to an automatic door lock and latch whereby the door may be released to automati-- cally open in a quick and efiicient manner.,

The object of the invention resides inthe provision of a structure of this nature which is easy to manipulate, comparatively inexpensive to install, thoroughly reliable in operation and otherwise well'adapted' to the purpose for which it is designed.

With the above and. numerous other objects in view as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, and in the combination and ar rangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure l is an inside elevation of .the. door showing the lock and latch structure mounted thereon.

'Figu're 2is an outside elevation thereof.

Figure3is a detail elevation of the rockable disk and cooperating part.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line 55 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a lever,

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Figure '7.

Figure 9'is a. vertical sectional view through a casing showing an operating lever;

Figure 10 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 1010 of Figure l. V

Figure 11 is a vertical detail section taken substantially on the line 11-11 of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is a top plan view of the weight rack and weight.

Figure 13 is a perspective view of the cable ha and Figure 14 is a perspective view of the lock lever guard. V

Referring to the drawings in detail it will'be seen that the letter A denotes generally a door vertically movable in tracks B of channel formation to receive rollers 5 on the side edges of the door. The door is urged normally to an open or raised position by a weightfi movable in a rack 7 and connected by a chain 8 to a bar 9 on the bottom portion of the door. This cable 8, of course is trained over a pulley 10 having a spring support 11. The structure thus far described may be considered as conventional and has been illustrated somewhat in detail merely for the purposes of exemplification in bringing out the operation, construction and advantages or" my improved construction.

Numeral l2 denotes a disk rockable on a stud l4 projecting from a plate 15 fixed as at 16 to the approximate center of the door. A latch bolt 17 slidable in a guide 18 is adapted to engage in a notch 19 formed inthe periphery of the disk 12.

- Linkrods 20 are pivotally engaged as at 21 with the disk 12 and extend outwardly therefrom in opposite directions through guides 23 on the door and are pivotally connected with levers 24 rockably mounted intermediate their ends as at 25 on the door. Pivotally engaged with these levers 24 at their bottom end are horizontal bolt rods 22 slidable through guides 27 and engagcable in'recesses in the door frame for holding the door in locked position. A spring 28 is engaged with the tion with the frame of the door.

"A lever 30 is pivotally connected with the bolt 1'7 and has a spring 31 connected therewith holding the lever 30 normally so that the bolt 17 is in engaged or engageable position with respect to the notch 19. A chain 33 is attached to the lever 30 and leads down to and is connected with what I term a lock lever 34 pivotally mounted intermediate its ends asat 35 on the lower portion of the door. A trip lever 75 is pivoted at one end as at 36 on the door and a link 37 is engaged therewith and with the lever '34. A spring 38 normally urges the lever 75 upwardly. The tension of the trip lever spring 38 is sufficient to rock lever 30 against the tension of spring 31 in released relation. A chain 39 connects an intermediate portion of the lever '75 with an arm 39 projecting from'the disk 12. Numeral 40 denotes a guard or guide for the lever 34, and the free end of said lever is engageable by a catch 41. The catch 41 (see Figures 10 and 11) is rockably mounted in a housing 43 embedded in the floor. A spring 44 normally urges the catch to an engaged or engageable position with respect to the lock lever. The levers '75 and 34 coact with each other through link 3'7 and spring 38, and the chains 39' and 33 connected one to each of these 'rocking the catch 41 to coacting levers actuate the diskl2 so that latch bolt 17 registers with and engages with the notch 19 when the foot of the operator bears down on lever 35; while the coaction of these levers releases the latch bolt 17 whencatch 41 is sprung as will hereafter appear.

Numerous different means may be utilized for actuating the catch 41 in the present exemplification of the invention I have illustrated two different ways of actuating or releasing thecatch 41. Numeral 46 denotes a wire trained through a tube 47 which tube 47 leads into a housing 48 outside of the fire engine house or the like. This casing or housing 48 has a door 49 releasable by a lock 50. Inside the housing is a hand operated lever 51 connected with the wire 46 so that this wire may be pulled by rocking the lever thereby released position. Numeral 52 denotes another wire trained through a tube 53 which leads into a housing or casing 55 countersunk in the floor of the engine house or the like. Numeral 56 denotes the usual slide pole which firemen use to descend from the upper story'to the lower story. Numeral 5"? denotes a:

lever 62 connectedwith the wire 52. It will be apparent that when the first fireman slides down the pole 56 the downward actuationof the treadle 57 will cause the release of the catch 41 and therefore cause the opening of the door.

'It is thought that the construction, operation, utility and advantages of this invention will now be clearly understood Without a' more detailed description thereof.

The present embodiment of the invention has been described in considerable detail merely for the'purposes of exempliiication since in actual practice it attains the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and'the above description.

It will be apparent that changes in the details of construction, and in the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is: r

1. In combination with a vertically sliding retractile door, a rotatable member mounted on the door and formed with a notch in the edge thereof, a pair of slidably mounted normally retracted rod bolts connected with the rotatable member and adapted for engagement with keepers in the door frame in the projected fastened position, a sliding latch bolt engageable with said notch for retaining said rotatable member and rod bolts in fastened relation, a pair of coacting levers rockably mounted adjacent the bottom of the door, means connected to said coacting levers for releasing said latch bolt and actuating the rotatable member, a swingably mounted catch adapted to be positioned in the floor and engageable with one of said'coacting levers for maintaining the said levers in fastened position, and means mounted at a remote point from the door and connected with said catch for swinging said catch and releasing said coacting levers.

2. In combination with a vertically sliding retractile door, a rotatable disk mounted on the door and formed with a notch in the periphery thereof, a pair of horizontal slidably mounted rod bolts connected with the rotatable disk and adapted for engagement with keepers in the door frame in the projected position, spring means connected with said rod bolts for normally urging the same to retracted position, a sliding latch bolt engaging said notch for retaining said disk and rod bolts in fastened relation, a pair of coacting levers rockably mounted adjacent the bottom of the door, chains connected one to each of said coacting levers for releasing said latch bolt and actuating the rotatable disk, a swingablymounted catch adapted to be positioned in the floor and engageable with one of said coacting levers for maintaining the said levers in fastened position, and means mounted at a remote point from the door and connected with said catch for swinging the catch and releasing said coacting levers.

' OTHER VERNON TULL. 

